In this article, the author uses the academic/vocational split to reflect on some broader educational and cultural issues, for he thinks that the distinction as it is played out in school has much to teach people, whether or not they are directly involved with the issue of vocational education or, as it is now often called, career and technical education. He begins with some history, so that people can get a sense of the development of vocational education and the academic/vocational divide. He points out that the academic/vocational divide that persists in U.S. schools today is not simply a matter of curriculum. It is an expression of beliefs about intelligence and the social order that continue to limit the options of large numbers of young people. (Contains 12 endnotes.)